Australian Property News

Red tape slashed in housing market paperwork

Homebuyers and sellers in Queensland will soon be using just one contract, under a plan to slash red tape in the housing market.

The move, expected to be finalised by the end of February, could decrease legal costs and reduce the number of forms, according to Queensland Premier Anna Bligh.

“Simplifying the paperwork involved in a residential property contract will not only help conveyance lawyers and real estate agents, but we believe the public will benefit from less paperwork and associated costs,” Bligh says.

The requirements in a house contract currently include the need for a sustainability declaration, a pool safety declaration, a warning statement, an information sheet, disclosure statement and the contract of sale.

“At the moment each one of these means a separate form, each with a fee, and often repeating the same type of information,” Bligh says.

“We intend to rid the industry of unnecessary complications making it easier to buy and sell a home in Queensland.”

The Queensland Government is also proposing to incorporate flood mapping data into the ‘one contract’, pending the recommendations of the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry.